Feminism and why we need it.

Do you think feminists are a bunch of angry lesbians who hate men? Do you think they are all angry single women? Do you think they’re all mad?Well, you’re wrong.

First of all, feminists fight for equal rights: they want everyone to be safe and to live their lives, free from gender roles, free from stereotypes and prejudices. They want both women and men to have equal political , economical and social rights. They want to give access to abortion and to make the world a better place for everyone. Unfortunately, there has always been a negative stigma attached to it. Part of this problem is the way our media sensationalizes things, trying to pass the most radical and extreme versions as the standard which, in this case, portrays a feminist as a man-hater who hates lipstick, crinkles her nose at stay-at-home moms, and unapologetically supports abortions on demand. Because of this, a lot of moviments were born like the one ”Women against feminism” which consists in women posting photos and statements like: ”I don’t need feminism because I don’t choose to ignore the fact that men have issues too” ,”I don’t need feminism because I already have equal rights” , ”Men must have the supremacy so rape is justified”.

Reading these things, I felt really disappointed and angry because, in 2017, people have still a wrong idea of what feminism means and they want to remain ignorant about the argument, which is really annoying.

A friendly reminder: being a feminist has nothing to do with how you look, what you wear, who you date, or how often you have sex. Being a feminist doesn’t mean you think women deserve special rights; it means you know we deserve equal ones. It doesn’t mean you are just a stupid lesbian who wants to rule the entire world.

While a primary purpose of feminism is to empower women, it does not mean feminists view all women as weak and oppressed. Feminists don’t want to make women stronger; they already know they’re strong. We know we can do big things as everyone can, we just want to make it clear . We don’t want to be victims of stupid prejudices like ”women can’t study math or science because they have to take care of family and they will destroy the world. Men are better at leading and we have proofs.” We don’t want anyone to decide about our body and how we control it. Most of us are pro- choice so what’s wrong with people who think that feminists want to practice abortion in every case? We don’t want to rape men, to bully men, to destroy them. We just want us to be their equals, it’s not a wild concept.

Why do we still need feminism?

There are some people who believe that feminism is a thing of the past and that we don’t need it anymore because the patriarchal system no longer exists. After all, we can vote, right? Of course, that’s true. Indeed females vote more than men do. Women still hold less than 20 percent of seats in Congress, even though they make up more than half the population. Some believe the patriarchal system doesn’t exist because we have equal hiring opportunities. But if this were really the case would there still be a 23 percent pay gap? .Because when women are assaulted, they are often the ones who feel ashamed. We still need feminism because we teach people to not view women as objects and not to make excuses about it such as: ”She was wearing provocant clothes. It’s not my fault!”. Because women are told that walking alone at night makes them “an easy target.” We still need feminism because our bodies are still being legislated, because McDonald’s still asks us if we want a girl or boy toy, because we use terms like “bitch” and pussy” to imply weakness and to insult people. Stop calling other girls ”bitches”, stop defining men ”weak” because they show emotions. Emotions are important and everybody needs them, even men, who have been victims of this stupid idea since centuries. It’s okay to cry, it’s okay if you don’t like smoking, drinking, shooting or having sex everytime.

There’s nothing wrong in it. We need feminism because the female genital mutilation, the act of cutting off and retouch female genitals to prevent pleasurable sex, it can happen to girls as young as 5 months old , is still practiced in 29 countries. Because more than 120 countries don’t have laws against marital rape, and still allow child brides and some as young as 6 years old. We need it because in Afghanistan, women who go to the college, can be considered justifiable grounds for disfiguring. We need feminism because people are still agreeing that women don’t need to be paid for the same works as men, that they like the indifference and injustices so deep-seated in society that they have accepted it as a way of life. We need it because some women are killed because they decided to marry another boy and not the one who the family wanted. We need it because in Iraq, for example, women aren’t allowed to receive a proper instruction and to go out. They always need a men near them. We need it for freedom, not to kill all the men in this world. We’re not feminazis, we’re just human beings who want your happiness, nothing more.

What about the women in the past and in the present?

Olympe de Gouges, during the french revolution, fought for people rights, especially women.

”Woman is born free and lives equal to man in her rights. Social distinctions can be based only on the common utility.”

Of course, we have to remember The suffragettes and some famous women like Alice Stone Blackwell, Mary Wollstonecraft and Sojourner Truth.

Simone De Beauvoir, in 1949 wrote ”The second sex” where seh critiques the patriarchy and the social constructs faced by women.

“Man is defined as a human being and a woman as a female — whenever she behaves as a human being she is said to imitate the male.”

Marlene Dietrich helped the moviment through fashion. She wore men’s trousers and suits when it was considered extremely scandalous and a taboo. She was arrested for this in 1930.

Gloria Steinem was a social activist, writer, editor, and lecturer and she has been an outspoken champion of women’s rights since the late 1960s.

“A gender-equal society would be one where the word ‘gender’ does not exist: where everyone can be themselves.”
We have to remember Yoko Ono, Alice Walker, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, Madonna, Sheryl Sandberg, Malala Yousafzai, Angelina Jolie, Beyonce and Audrey Hepburn and Rosie The Riveter.

As a feminist, I find men really funny because they start no drama, they usually don’t judge you and they help you, no matter what.

This post is wonderful! I couldn’t agree with any of it more. When I say I’m a feminist, people scowl, roll their eyes, or say “Oh, you’re one of those people.” The media definitely has a part in this and I wish that eventually that will go away.